Chapter 4
Arthur Vale did not deny knowing about Jace.
He denied regretting it.
Cassian met his father at Arthur’s home.
Rebecca attended.
So did Arthur’s lawyer.
Arthur looked exactly as Cassian remembered him from childhood arguments.
Silver hair.
Perfect posture.
Calm voice.
A man who could make cruelty sound like fiduciary responsibility.
Cassian placed the DNA report on the table.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“For thirteen years.”
“Yes.”
“You signed my name.”
Arthur frowned.
“I authorized correspondence on your behalf.”
“That is called signing my name.”
“You were twenty-nine.”
“I was an adult.”
“You were building a career defending men prosecutors already called monsters. A secret pregnancy would have become a weapon.”
Cassian stared.
“So you decided my son was a reputation problem.”
“I decided everyone needed protection.”
“From me?”
“From scandal.”
Rebecca asked:
“Did Cassian ever authorize support?”
Arthur looked at her.
“He benefited from the arrangement.”
“That was not the question.”
Arthur’s mouth tightened.
“No.”
Cassian felt his hands become cold.
“Why did you tell Lena I wanted no contact?”
“Because uncertainty is crueler than clarity.”
Cassian almost laughed.
“You lied to both of us and called it clarity.”
Arthur leaned back.
“Jace had money. Schooling. Medical care. Lena had stability. You built your practice.”
“And he grew up thinking I rejected him.”
Arthur’s expression did not change.
“He grew up.”
That sentence ended whatever small amount of patience Cassian had left.
He stood.
Rebecca touched his sleeve.
Not to stop him from violence.
To stop him from leaving before asking the financial question.
Cassian remained.
“Why did Vale & Vale reimburse almost three million dollars to a family trust for seven hundred thousand dollars of support?”
For the first time, Arthur’s composure changed.
Barely.
Enough.
“Administrative allocation.”
Cassian sat back down.
“Explain.”
“Legacy accounting.”
“Explain.”
Arthur’s lawyer intervened.
“We’ll provide responsive financial records through counsel.”
Cassian looked at his father.
“That means you don’t want to answer.”
Arthur’s voice sharpened.
“You came here emotional.”
“Yes.”
It surprised him.
Cassian continued.
“I found out five days ago I have a thirteen-year-old son who believes I abandoned him because you forged my name. I’m emotional.”
Arthur stared.
Cassian’s voice stayed quiet.
“But I’m also asking you a financial question you cannot answer.”
Silence.
Rebecca closed her folder.
The meeting ended.
Outside, Cassian received a call from Noah’s school.
Dean Whitmore wanted to discuss Jace’s transfer paperwork.
Arthur Vale’s family foundation had guaranteed Jace’s tuition.
Not Lena.
Not an anonymous donor.
Arthur.
Six weeks earlier.
May you like
Exactly four months after he stopped Jace’s support payments.
The same man who had hidden Jace for thirteen years had suddenly placed him inside Noah’s school.
